Header image of wall of bricks Open menu Close menu

-kin

Also ‑kins.

Forming diminutive nouns.

Middle Dutch ‑kijn, ‑ken, Middle Low German ‑kīn.

A manikin, a person who is very small, derives from Dutch manneken, diminutive of man (the store dummy called a mannequin is the French spelling of the same word); a bodkin, a thick, blunt needle with a large eye, is historically most probably a small bod, an Irish word for a dagger; gherkin is a diminutive of a Dutch word for a cucumber; larrikin, an Australian term for a boisterous, often badly behaved young man, is possibly a diminutive of the given name Larry; napkin is a diminutive of Old French nappe, tablecloth. Words in ‑kins express endearment, as in babykins, bunnykins, mouseykins.

Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Your comments are very welcome.